Woman in Critical Condition After Restaurant Accidentally Poisons Tea

A woman is fighting for her life in a hospital after reportedly drinking iced-tea at a restaurant in Utah. Jan Harding suffered severe burns to her mouth and throat after pouring herself some iced-tea while having lunch with friends at Dickey's Barbecue Pit in South Jordan. After taking a sip, she immediately noticed a burning sensation in her mouth. Turns out an employee had reportedly laced the tea with the deadly chemical lye.

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The chemical, commonly used to clean and de-grease deep fryers, was somehow put into the iced-tea instead ofsugar. South Jordan Police Cpl. Sam Winkler told the Los Angeles Times:

We are fortunate that it was a Sunday, that it wasn't very busy. If someone had swallowed it, it could have been potentially fatal.

While the grandmother of six may not have swallowed the chemical, it still caused her quite a bit of harm. She is currently intubated in a hospital, unable to speak.

The company that owns the Texas-based restaurant chain issued a statement saying:

Safety is something we take very seriously when it comes to our valued guests, as well as our own team members. At this time we are fully involved in cooperating with all parties.

Yikes. Can you imagine this? And how could something like this happen? How does someone just grab lye instead of sugar? You would think dangerous chemicals and condiments are not kept in the same place or even near each other! Or could the lye and sugar have been switched by someone earlier?